Telegram remains frequently used in Russia and Iran despite restrictions, with VPN bypasses driving the expansion of "digital resistance."

Coin World April 4 news: Telegram founder Pavel Durov said in a post on his personal channel that although Telegram has been restricted in Russia for a long time, data shows that about 65 million Russian users still use the app every day through methods such as VPNs, including more than 50 million who remain actively messaging on a daily basis. At the same time, the Russian government has continued to intensify its efforts to block VPNs, but related measures face challenges at the technical level. Reports indicate that recently, network shutdown actions even caused payment system anomalies at one point, and some regions temporarily returned to cash transactions. Similar situations have also occurred in Iran. Since the ban on Telegram, authorities originally hoped to promote the adoption of locally regulated communication apps, but the result was instead to drive a large-scale increase in VPN usage, creating a widespread “digital bypass” phenomenon. Analysts believe that in a tightly regulated environment, users’ demand for communication freedom and privacy continues to exist, and technical confrontations are escalating. As more and more developers participate in building VPNs and proxy tools, the struggle between information access and regulation is further intensifying.